All Eyes On Me
by Mistress Ashley
Summary: TTH FFA response - Rodney felt the eyes again. They were always there, following him, watching him. Non-explicit SLASH


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Buffy or Stargate Atlantis. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just borrowing some of the characters. I'll put them back in like new condition - I promise! *crosses fingers behind her back*

**AN:** Well, RL is taking front seat. I've started a new project, a family tree (got the computer software for Christmas). It's something I've always wanted to do but never knew how to go about it so now that I have what I need I'm putting most of my time into searching out leads on family members. I've got one side - through my grandmother on my mother's side - taken clear back to the 1800s already. The other branches of the tree are looking a little (okay, a lot) bare. It's harder to find records (and verify them) than I thought it would be. Silly of me, right? People spend all their lives mapping out their family trees.  
-- Since this has been written I've discovered an Italian family that migrated over and then later married into my family. It's not a direct line to me - more of a cousin line but still it's so cool!!! -- Another update, another branch has a lot who migrated from Germany ... again not my direct line but I'm hoping to tie it all together. It's kinda icky seeing all the inbreeding that happened back in the 1700/1800s. So and so's daughters marry so and so's sons and before you know it their offspring are inter-marrying. *shivers* But, I guess small town people who spend all their lives in that town, never accepting newcomers it's kinda expected that they'd all be related somehow.

I'll be continuing with my writing but online time has become research time so updates will come slowly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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**All Eyes On Me**

Rodney felt the eyes again. They were always there, following him, watching him. It was why he hardly ever left his lab anymore, sneaking out in the dead of night or early morning to get food. He'd even managed to badger John into bringing him his coffee - it just went to show how truly bad the situation was when John agreed after very little badgering.

Why had he come out of hiding now, if it worked so well, you ask? With all the time he had to work, breakthroughs were being made and Elizabeth required each one to be brought to her personally. Rodney gave a brief thought towards the likelihood of Elizabeth being an accomplice but shrugged that thought off as soon as it came and continued on his way.

Rodney manfully ignored the eyes that followed his every move before he vanished around a corner.

-----

Alright, enough was enough! Rodney had worked himself into a full blown tizzy. As much as he hated, abhorred, the word there really was no other word for it. He'd been hidden in his lab for over a month now, since the last shipment of Earth personnel had arrived. A week ago they'd run out of coffee. Today was the scheduled 'necessities' shipment and he'd arrived early in the hopes of smuggling a box of coffee away all for himself - Hey, he practically ran this place. It was his brains that kept Atlantis from blowing up or rather, being blown up! He deserved his coffee!!

The feel of eyes was distracting him from his coffee goal though. Rodney felt he'd never hated anything or anyone (even the Wraith or Genii) more than the feel of those eyes following him. He ignored the voice that maliciously questioned why, if he hated them so much, did they always send a tingling shiver down his spine?

All thoughts of coffee forgotten, Rodney McKay scurried back to his lab.

-----

It was Christmas on Earth though you wouldn't be able to tell as there was no difference to the daily runnings of Atlantis.

After a fairly productive day, where Rodney had yelled at multiple people, he went contently back to his room. A swoosh of the door admitted him. Rodney was already pulling off his jacket and heading for the bed when he caught sight of the innocent package wrapped merrily in red paper with a large golden bow atop it.

Warily, Rodney approached the bed, cautious that the thing might grow legs and fangs and attack him. A poke of his finger and a crinkle of paper, he tensed in preparation to run but found that the package did not attack. A harder poke told him there was something hard - a box or something more sinister? - contained within. With one more, firm poke and no unnecessary motion of the package, Rodney conceded defeat.

Seating himself on the bed, his thighs cradled the large package gently, if there was a bomb inside there was no need to jar it unexpectedly. His hands worked the ribbon loose and folded paper back. Rodney's breath rushed from his lungs when he got his first look at what was inside.

Coffee, a whole box of coffee just for him. Rodney decided maybe the eyes, for it must have been them, weren't so bad after all.

-----

New Years wasn't much different than Christmas. A few more checks to the systems but as the Ancient's calendar system was different from theirs it was a day like any other day. There might have been a few scientist 'families' who watched the clock a little too closely hoping to disappear for a few minutes around Earth's midnight but there was little to no celebration.

Since Christmas Rodney had hidden himself away less and less. The eyes still followed him but Rodney was so used to them now that they were easy to ignore - just like the voice in his head that pointed out he'd grown to enjoy them.

So it was without an ounce of trepidation that Rodney ventured from his lab to grab a quick snack and some more coffee. The journey to the cafeteria was walked by memory as his mind turned over the latest problem with Atlantis' systems. So it was that he didn't notice the body in front of him until he'd barreled into it.

His mouth already opening to snap at the person before him as his eyes landed on them and his mouth shut abruptly. Rodney's eyes searched for an escape but seeing none his shoulders slumped. He sent up a quick prayer that someone would come by to rescue ... distract the person in front of him so he could make a hurried ... er - heroic getaway.

The person blocking Rodney's path checked their watch before leaning down. Rodney felt the soft press of lips against his own. A tingling shiver, much stronger than those given by watching eyes, traveled down his spine as his eyes fluttered close. It was over almost as soon as it had begun leaving only a whispered "Happy New Year" ghosting across kiss whetted lips.

Rodney decided Xander Harris, Atlantis' liaison to the New Council, was the most infuriating man he'd ever met. The tightening of his stomach was impossible to ignore as he headed back to his lab; all thoughts of food, coffee, or Atlantis' impending doom forgotten in lieu of putting all his considerable intelligence towards remembering every detail of the kiss.

**Fin**

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I was going to have the pairing be a surprise ... well, except for those who found it through FFAs but I wasn't sure where to put it so that it would be found by those who would truly enjoy it. I hope you enjoyed it - even with the ruined surprise.


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